


50 Shades of Woodland Green

by kemenios, killerxxqueen



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Femdom, Kiliel Week, Light Dom/sub, Pegging, kiliel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 01:35:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5271620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kemenios/pseuds/kemenios, https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerxxqueen/pseuds/killerxxqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili Durin works in a coffee house, rather than the at the mining company with the rest of his family.  Tauriel is estranged from most of her forest-loving family, along with her adopted brother Legolas.  In each other, they find something they didn't even know they were missing, a sense of understanding...as well as a mutual desire to explore some darker shades of green.  </p><p>Unashamedly contains some of my favorite smut that @kemenios and I have ever written together in Chapter Two, which has been posted!</p><p>This is most definitely NOT a 50 Shades of Gray crossover, we both just found that particular title to be amusing as hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a raw RP log that has been somewhat edited, fyi. I will continue to fix errors as I find them. :) Thank you!

For what must have been the hundredth time since her arrival, Tauriel prodded the home button on her phone.

The barista took note of her first. The way her eyes darted from home screen, to window, to door, and then back again. Her hand rested -- for the better part of an hour -- upon the same two pages of a Harlequin romance novel, while her latte cooled -- forgotten -- at her elbow. An hour wore on into two, then to three, and the longer she sat, the more insistently her boot heel tapped against the leg of her chair. Tapped and tapped, quick glares and furtive glances, which slowed and slumped and strayed as closing time drew nearer. Finally, head hanging low, she slipped the book into her satchel and made her way to the counter with her cold coffee.

“Sorry if I kept you,” she said, almost too quietly, as she pushed her cup across the counter;

 _Tauriel_ , written across the side in the barista’s messy scrawl. Odd name for a pretty girl. “I was waiting for someone, but-- Anyway, I’m sorry. Could you, maybe, just heat this back up for me? It’s getting kind of chilly out, and I have to walk back home.”

The green sweater and orange knit scarf looked lovely against her complexion; pity there wasn’t a smile to brighten it further.

The messy brown curls on the barista’s head bounced as he suddenly lost almost six inches of height and reached across the counter to grab her drink. There was still a bit of hot coffee left over, he certainly wasn’t just going to heat up what surely tasted like cold mop water right now. Kili couldn’t help the low chuckle that left his mouth as he grabbed a new cup and moved to the pot, stepping up on one of his many stools to pull it from the burner. He glanced over to her as he poured, not spilling a drop. It was only a few minutes after closing. No big deal really, he didn’t mind waiting when there was someone as pretty as her to keep him company while he cleaned up. 

“It’s all right,” A glance to the old cup, “--Tauriel. I just feel sorry for the jerk that left a lady like you sittin’ here for so long.” He put a lid on the coffee and slid it back across the counter, having to jump up on another small step stool to put it within her reach. 

Many were put off by his height, or lack there of. This one didn’t seem like she was, annoyed, certainly, that someone stood her up. But she’d been nothing but polite to him all while he cleaned up around her. “Sorry if this is a bit forward, but do you want a ride? I don’t wanna impose none, I just don’t want you to have to walk home in the dark when it’s this cold.”

Tauriel watched him work with little more than polite curiosity. He had a kind smile and a ready laugh. It was rare enough to find people like that in the wider world, let alone behind a cafe counter. To call the job _thankless_ would be a bit of an understatement, and this one looked like he had trouble enough simply staying out from underfoot.

It was getting cold, though; it would almost certainly be frigid by the time she hoofed it the thirteen blocks to her building. Stranger or no, the prospect of a ride was tempting, and she doubted that a man with so sweet a smile could do her any bit of harm. It was soothing, strange as that felt. Comforting. She wanted to see more of it.

She warmed her hands on either side of the cup, pondering the varied mysteries of disposable lids and the wisdom of accepting a ride home from a man with such a _smile._ Finally, deciding that she was too annoyed to argue with herself any longer, she raised her gaze to him and offered a sad smile.

“I wouldn’t mind, if it’s on your way. I’m pretty far downtown, so it’s a bit of a hike. But the bus won’t go there, this time of night.”

“I’m not too far from downtown, but it’s no real trouble for me to just do a big circle.” The smile was so easy and kind, one that inspired happiness in others. “My name is Kili,” He pointed to his name tag, chuckling a little bit as if he hadn’t just pointed out the most obvious thing in the world. “Um, go stand by the door if you don’t mind? I have to grab my stuff and then set the alarm.” 

It never dawned on him that she might feel a bit weirded out. She was just a girl who needed to get home, who’d been stood up by some idiot. Kili moved to the back, pulling off his apron and grabbing a backpack from behind the bar. His jacket was pulled out of there and quickly put on. The temperature outside was steadily dropping the darker it got, he didn’t want to freeze either. When she moved to the door, holding the coffee to warm her hands, he glanced over to her. Dark eyes looking up and down her frame, admiring her beauty...but also a very visible strength. 

Kili sooned joined her at the door, punching in an alarm code before ushering her outside to lock the doors behind him. His car, the only one left in the lot, was certainly nothing special. A little sedan that looked like it had seen better days. His uncle was very insistent on his nephews earning their material possessions for themselves, even if their family was very well off. Kili hurried over to unlock her door, sweeping the few empty cups into the back seat.

“I’m sorry about the mess, but my heaters are warm, I promise.” 

“Anything’s better than outside.”

Tauriel gingerly placed her satchel on the floor, and strapped her belt in place as soon as she was seated. This was above and beyond the call of duty for any barista. Tauriel didn’t imagine she would want to cart some customer home after a long shift, but her freckles and long legs had gotten her worse attention than a ride home on a fall day. She should be grateful for it, even if ulterior motives were in play.

She’d have to tip better, at the very least.

“Kili’s an unusual name,” she noted, finally taking a sip of her well-earned latte. God help her, she’d be up all night. “Is it short for something?”

“Yeah, it’s short for me.” There was a minor awkward pause before he chuckled and shook his head, starting the car before buckling himself in. “Nah, my mom is a holdover hippie. My brother’s name is Fili, like a girl horse. He thinks I got the better end of the deal when it came to names, but I got the short end of the stick when it comes to height.” 

He backed out of the parking space, checking the rearview before putting his little sedan in drive and moving to pull out of the parking lot. At least there wasn’t much traffic this late at night. Kili could have her home soon, as long as he didn’t hit every red-light between here and downtown. 

One glance in her direction told him she was kicking herself for the _short_ remark. “People tell me I’m funny for a short guy, I guess if I were taller I’d be a riot.” Kili grinned, laughing again. “So Tauriel, can’t say I’ve written that on a cup before tonight.”

“You’re funny for anyone,” Tauriel said with a small smile, meant to imply only that she didn’t mind his height enough to bring any manner of attention to it.

“I don’t really have an excuse for my name though. I didn’t know my parents, and my foster dad only met my mom once. I guess that wasn’t really a topic that came up in conversation.”

Foster girl. **Orphan** , if they wanted to go that far. Tauriel rarely did. Before she moved to the city, her life had been rather insular and _strange_ , and people either didn’t understand it, or didn’t accept it. Better not to go into the finer details, particularly with a stranger.

Tauriel rested the coffee between her knees, leaning forward to warm her hands instead on the heat from the vents. To Kili’s credit, the car did warm quickly. Not that she had room to judge anyone else’s car when she didn’t even have one herself.

“I was actually waiting for him tonight. My foster dad, I mean. But he uhm… He doesn’t come into town often. I guess he just couldn’t make it tonight.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to call him a jerk then. I just--” Kili shut his mouth for a moment as he waited for the light to turn green. He didn’t want to make an ass of himself in front of this girl. She was beautiful and the more she spoke, the more he wanted to listen. “My pop died when I was still in my ma, my uncle’s been a pretty good stand-in though. I hope you get to see yours again soon though.” He reached into the back and pulled up a little flannel blanket. “For your legs if they’re cold?” 

He would be just fine. It was cold, but it never bothered him much. 

Fili was the one who always kept their apartment like the first circle of hell. Kili would have it be a freezer if it were up to him. And their uncle, well...if it were up to his uncle, they wouldn’t even be living this close to downtown. They would be at the high-rise across town, right next to their office building. Durin Mining Company. 

The light turned green and the car hesitated when he pressed the gas, but only for a split second. The sedan lurched along, humming as they went block to block, getting closer to her street. “I like your name a lot though. It’s a good strong name, not weird like mine.” He kept smiling at her, happy to have someone so easy to talk to in his car.

“Your name isn’t weird,” she grinned, and for the first time since he’d laid eyes on her, it appeared genuine. “Just unique. Guess neither of us are going to find our personalized souvenir keychains, though.”

Alas, if only _that_ were the greatest bane of her existence.

“It’s good you still have your mom and uncle, though.”

The blanket was almost instantly warm on her bare knees. She had to take a moment to ponder the wisdom of wearing a skirt with no leggings on a night like tonight, but to her credit, she had thought she had the ride thing covered. But the blanket smelled of woodsmoke, of forest and earth; it smelled comfortable and familiar, like so many nights in her childhood. Not that they’d been particularly _healthy_ , and that was the firm reminder she had to fall back on when the pang of homesickness came.

“You use this for bonfires?” She asked, running her fingers over the frayed edge.

“Yeah, try finding anything even close to our names at Disneyworld.” The sight of her smile was something brilliant, like a star on a cold winter night. A guiding beacon in a place drowning in yellowed light. “Oh the blanket?” In response to her question, “Yeah, my brother and I go camping a lot at my family’s land north of the city. It’s…”

He didn’t really want to admit that his uncle was in charge of something as big as DMC, nor that he came from a lot of money. What would she think of him? Kili didn’t want her to think he was some spoiled as shit rich kid only being nice to get in her pants. 

That was a move his brother would make. Not him. 

“See, Fili works this really high-pressure job downtown, so we like to get out of the city to just get back to nature and stuff. It’s a lot of fun. We use tents though, none of that RV crap. It ain’t camping if it’s not a sleeping bag on the ground in a tent.” He chuckled, pressing the brake as they approached another red light. “Do you like bonfires and camping?” 

“Yeah. I grew up in the mountains, so it wasn’t really camping so much as… just, life. I mean, we weren’t sleeping in tents every night. But we did a lot of bonfires, and most of my dad’s cooking was over a firepit, so the smell of it makes me a little homesick.”

Say what one would about her upbringing, her dad could roast a mean boar.

Tauriel picked idly at the loose threads her fingers found. SImply the way this man talked about his family -- his brother, family land -- was enough to make her ache. She wasn’t welcome in that kind of life any longer. Legolas was company enough, sometimes, but it did get terribly lonely without the safety net of their extended family. She had, at least, managed to stop crying herself to sleep.

“Your family sounds close. I share a place with my foster brother, but he’s all I really have. We moved out here recently, and we don’t have a lot of contact with our family, so--”

It was starting to sound weird, and she realized herself a few beats too late.

“Do you live with Fili? It seems like you talk about him a lot.”

Kili nodded, pressing the gas after the light turned green, “Sure do, I don’t think we’ve been apart for more than a few days since I was born. We do everything together. He’s a couple years older than me though.” Fili didn’t mind sharing an apartment with his little brother, especially if it meant not living in the same high-rise as the rest of their family. They both loved their relatives dearly, but agreed that some space was needed. Fili had bowed to pressure from their uncle to start that high-pressure job at the family business, but it wasn’t a bad thing. His brother was really good at what he did. 

The younger of the two, on the other hand, hated everything to do with mining. So he decided to try his hand at a number of different jobs. The latest and his favorite so far, was being a barista. 

“Maybe you and your brother could join me and mine on a camping trip some day. We’re always up for company. If you wanted to see me again, that is.” He slowed down, laughing a little, knowing he was approaching her street. “Which street was it again?”

“Greenleaf Terrace. One more light.”

If she wanted to see him again. Against her better judgement, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to leave him now. The car was warm, she reasoned; the blanket smelled of woodsmoke. ...his smile melted her heart. He’d gotten her to laugh in spite of the somber air, and that was worth more than a warm coffee and a ride home.

“Inviting me to meet the family already, Kili? I don’t think my brother would approve. He’s very protective. ...I’m sure you’re sick of coffee, but I make a mean vanilla chai. Would you like to come up and have some? Seems the least I can do for such a gracious ride home.”

His cheeks immediately went red, but he nodded at her invitation. He would never be sick of coffee, really. It was nature’s fuel. Kept him going through long double shifts while he made it for other people and the sort of concoctions people thought up to order. It made his days amusing as hell, even when he had shitty customers. Kili hadn’t at all expected to be invited up to her apartment, perhaps a phone number or even just a kiss on the cheek. 

The remaining few minutes of the drive were comfortably quiet as he pulled down her street, parking outside of her building when she pointed it out. 

Kili rushed to get out of the car, running around to be polite and open her door for her. It probably made him seem terribly eager for things that were not going to happen, but he didn’t care. He helped her up out of the little sedan, marveling at how she unfolded all that height from his tiny vehicle. He came up to shoulder, really, he wasn’t that much shorter. Her legs just went on for days, making her seem like an Amazon. 

“So, your brother won’t stab me or anything if I come up with you?” He grinned at her, “You said he was protective. My brother would just laugh at me if I got myself into that much trouble.” 

“Well, I can’t promise anything, but I have faith in your ability to dodge him.”

Tauriel spared Kili a small smile as she fished a ring of keys from her satchel’s pockets. This was a dismal part of town, and her building certainly didn’t look glamourous. The security system was a manual holdover from the early 90’s, and it looked as if the inhabitants had to come physically open the door for more guests than they buzzed in. Tauriel lingered to ensure the door closed behind them, and ushered Kili to a cargo elevator at the far end of the hall, so narrow they had to nearly spoon when the gate was closed.

Tauriel seemed at ease with it, as if it were an everyday occurrence. She even rested her hand on Kili’s shoulder as the elevator began to lurch up.

“It’s a nice place, just old. I’m kind of surprised we could find a loft downtown. It was probably the height of luxury, about twenty years ago.”

The elevator brought them out to a small landing, from which Tauriel unlocked the door to a wide, open living space. Even in the low light, Kili could see the various furs -- some in solid blacks, browns, and creams, while others were mottled and spotted, beautifully imperfect -- draped over nearly every couch and chair, laid out as table settings and runners. There was no television, but the entirety of the far wall was packed floor-to-ceiling with gravid bookshelves. The tiny kitchen on their left, cold and sterile, seemed a forgotten afterthought in the midst of the sweeping floor plan, and a rusted grate staircase stretched up into the darkness of -- presumably -- the sleeping area.

“Make yourself at home,” Tauriel said as she dumped her satchel on the kitchen counter. “Do you like your chai with sugar?”

He nodded, looking around the wide open space looking like it was some sort of tannery or a taxidermist. One of his uncles was really into stuffing and mounting his kills, but he rarely had skins just laying around like this. It was almost a little unexpected. He imagined Tauriel to have a warm and cozy home, small perhaps, but full of warm colors and lots of sweaters. 

“Yeah, I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth.” 

Kili ran a hand along one of the pelts, marveling at how soft it was before he took a seat at the little breakfast nook. Just a table with two chairs, presumably for her and her foster brother. Fili would undoubtedly think this place was a little weird, what with his love of IKEA, but it was honestly growing on the barista. This was warm and cozy, just in a backwoods kind of way. Nothing was really messy, it was just lived in. “My mom makes this tea whenever my brother and I get sick, it’s got all these weird herbs in it, but it’s still sweet. Fili likes his coffee black, because he’s a masochist. I don’t know how people drink anything without a little bit of sugar or honey in it.” He looked over to her, giving her an easy smile as she moved around the tiny kitchen.

“So what do you do with all the dead bunnies? Or does all this belong to your foster brother?” There was no insult meant. The only thing Kili ever got really crafty with was his bow and arrows. 

Tauriel grinned, glancing across the apartment from where she stood serving out portions of loose tea. Weird herbs, but still sweet; she mentally tallied the various ingredients that could contain -- licorice, marjoram, wormwood, nutmeg, cinnamon -- but remained silent while her mind turned toward the best way to answer that question.

“They’re not all bunnies. Most of them are deer, or goat. That one over the corner chair is black bear. He was an accident, but I think I did him a favor.

“I make things with them. Mostly decorative pieces, like wall hangings, though I do take other requests. Not clothing, more…”

Tauriel trailed off, nibbling thoughtfully at her lower lip. Flogs, braided whips, paddles; the fact that one made the occasional high-quality sexual accoutrements didn’t _precisely_ seem like the best introductory point for a perfect stranger, much less an attractive and charming stranger.

“Anyway, I trap them myself. Sometimes spend a whole week up in the mountain just gathering material. And then we have nothing but venison jerky and rabbit stew for a whole month.”

Kili chuckled, “Sounds like paradise, honestly. That’s the only time Fili and I really get to bond and be as close as we were as kids, is when we’re camping.” He stood then, walking over to the kitchen to retrieve his cup of chai and inhaled deeply of the steam coming from it. Interestingly, it smelled a bit like the weird tea his mother made when they were sick. He blew over the top of the hot liquid before taking a sip...and almost immediately regretted it.

His tongue had gotten burned.

The barista set the cup down, sticking his tongue out and frantically fanning in front of it. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t actually thought about the tea being hot. What kind of barista was he? Kili looked up to Tauriel, knowing he looked like a complete idiot in front of this incredibly amazing woman who could hunt, dress a kill, and make things from the remains. “Sorry,” He tried to speak with an aching tongue, before picking up the cup again. “I forgot it would be hot.” 

Smooth, Kili. Very smooth. 

Tauriel stifled her laughter rather well, but it still expressed itself as a faint grin. Rather than allowing him to continue on in his suffering, she retrieved a glass from one of the higher cabinets, to fill with cold water from the fridge. Cool enough, hopefully, that it would be some relief for his poor tongue.

“Sorry, I guess I should have warned you. But I thought, you know… your job…”

Clearly, she wasn’t above poking fun. But she left it at that, and lifted herself up to sit on the edge of the counter. Her long legs crossed at the ankle, and she took up her own tea to warm her hands and pretty the lip to her mouth, blowing gently across the surface of her tea. Idle movements, graceful, almost calculated but too imprecise to be so.

“How does Fili end up with the high-pressure job, while you’re slinging coffee and drinking strangers’ tea?”

“Yeah, I know, but when I’m all--sometimes I just forget.” Kili sipped at the cold water after it was handed to him, drinking most of it down before returning to his tea. It would be cool enough now if he just blew on it some more. Still, he was laughing at himself now. That was important, and he was just glad to see that Tauriel didn’t think he was some great, brainless moron. 

He watched as she took a seat on the counter before he leaned against the back of a couch. “How? Fili’s the golden child,” One careful sip of his tea now that it wasn’t so hot, “Literally. When our Dad passed, our uncle stepped in to kind of fill the gap. Fili was older than me and I guess I was too young to really be affected by our dad going, but I remember Fili was really upset. So my uncle took Fili under his wing and pushed him hard to succeed, because that’s what my dad would have wanted. So Fili grew up to be a CEO in training...and I just never really fit that corporate mould.”

Kili grinned, his life story wasn’t a painful thing to tell. His mother and uncle loved him and his brother very much, and they were always happy with them. Even when Uncle Thorin was pushing them hard in school and in their professional lives, it was still with love and respect.

“I didn’t know crap about coffee or tea a year ago, but I like what I do. I like coffee and I like making people smile.” He grinned, “And sometimes, I like giving pretty redheads a ride home so they invite me up to their hunter’s lodge for the best chai I’ve ever had.”

“Hunter’s lodge,” Tauriel laughed quietly. “I never thought of it like that, but I suppose it’s appropriate.

“It’s not as bad as my dad’s house. Antlers and fur everywhere, it’s like he couldn’t kill something without displaying half its carcass on the walls after. I think he calmed down after my brother nearly gored his eye out on one of them. A little. Not like it stopped him from putting a rack on the back of his chair at the dinner table.”

The effect of _that_ had always been entertaining, to say the least. She could still see it very clearly, her dear father, preaching fervently at the head of the table and looking every bit like a talking buck with those large antlers framing his head. She and Legolas fairly frequently had to bite their tongues against laughter, lest they find themselves on the wrong end of a switch again.

“Best chai, though? Thank you. I wish I could say I’m responsible for that, but I buy the tea from your place, so…”

Tauriel grinned over the lip of her mug. “How is it I’m only seeing your handsome face now?”

His mouth opened to speak when that compliment came out and Kili was suddenly rendered speechless. She thought he was handsome, and more specifically, him. Not his brother. Most girls went after Fili, he was a little taller and had hair like gold. Ladies always fawned over how distinguished his brother was, it was nice to be on the receiving end of that for once. He found his words after a few awkward moments and mirrored her grin. 

“Well, they just got the stools for me last week, so I doubt anyone saw much of me before then.” He could diffuse almost any situation with humor. Fili got the good looks, but Kili got the great sense of humor. 

The barista sipped at the chai, thankful it was cooling off now. “You should see my mom and uncle’s place. It’s just...sculpture and rocks everywhere. See, my family runs the Durin Mining Company and I guess everyone is just super into having rocks everywhere.” He didn’t like admitting that. Not that he was embarrassed of his family, it was more him being a barista in a family of miners and corporate executives. His uncle and mother weren’t thrilled with his profession of choice, but they did support his desire to branch out and do something that made him happy. 

Kili smiled again, “My place is just kind of...a mess.”

“Well,” Tauriel shrugged. “It’s important to know what you like.”

She was completely unfazed by the mention of _Durin Mining Company_ , and that probably should have been Kili’s first hint. There was hardly a person in this town who didn’t know that name, primarily because the town itself had sprung up _around_ the lucrative mining business, and continued to thrive on it even five generations after. Durin was what made this town what it had always been, and -- more than likely -- would always be.

Tauriel seemed, for lack of a better word, _oblivious_ to that fact, and that alone made Kili raise an eyebrow.

“I’m glad you’re doing what makes you happy, instead of doing what’s expected of you. I know it’s hard, but I think a lot of people would be much happier if they took that route. Speaking from experience. Good for you, really.” She smiled, and it was hard to imagine her as anything _but_ sincere.

“Thanks, it seems like you’re doing what you really like too.” Kili liked her sincerity. He liked her easy manner and odd sense about the world. Small town girl living in a big city, certainly, and that was a stretch at best. Small town girl. She sounded more like she had lived in the middle of the woods with nothing but her family and the heads of dead animals around her. 

Then again, that sounded a lot better than being raised to take over the family business of digging in dark holes in the ground. 

There was no doubt his family loved him and they worked hard, but Kili certainly didn’t want a life underground. He liked his job, he liked his apartment even though it was messy. He finished off the small cup of chai then, unsure if he should stick around or bug out before her foster brother came back. His cheeks went red and he smiled, a girl like her certainly wouldn’t have invited him up here for _that_ too. Tauriel thought he was handsome yes, but he doubted it went more further than that. “Thank you for the tea. I know it’s from my work, but you still make it well. Whenever I bring home tea for Fili, he always manages to mess it up somehow.” 

“Hard to mess up tea, as long as you know how long to brew it for.” Tauriel grinned faintly. “And I’m patient.”

Patient. There was something secret and deviant about the way she said that word. Spoken of like whispers of scandal behind closed doors, a facade that became all too plain to work out, if only one knew where to part the screens. _Patient_ , as if she were waiting for a thing far more sacred and clandestine than tea.

“Are you off so soon? We don’t have TV, but I could show you some of my work, if you’d like to stick around.”

“Oh, I only watch a few shows anyway.” Kili was not known for being remarkably perceptive, at least by his own family, but he caught the meaning behind her words. She wanted him to stay. Stay and get to know her a little better, stay and just spend some time. Clearly, that meant her foster brother wouldn’t be back any time soon. “I’d love to see some of your work. My brother and I hunt sometimes while we’re camping, I’ve got a really nice bow at home. Compound, but it gets the job done on rabbits and other small stuff.”

He gave her a big smile, “What kind of work have you done lately?” 

“Mostly some commission pieces. I was going to send them out tomorrow, just waiting for the sealant to set. I think they’re going to be seeing some rough days, so I figured my customer would probably appreciate the extra bit of… security.” 

Tauriel had long, graceful hands. They didn’t look to be hands that knew hard work, and yet -- as she led Kili into her small workroom off the living area -- he could see the evidence of her trade. The blades and borers, the rivets and the assorted cans of chemicals and dyes. It was a humble little nook, but it seemed more space than she needed to turn out her little masterpieces.

The newest of which were spread across her worktable in very solidly-arranged order. A riding crop, three feet from handle to tip, wrapped in black leather and bound with Swarovski rhinestone around the end and various joints; clearly meant more for show than practical use, but Tauriel had crafted it to take the heavy hits regardless. To match this piece, beside it lay various accoutrements made of straps and metal rings and glittering rhinestones. Things to hold and bind, to restrain and control, and doubtful though it was that Kili would know the proper names for these implements, the sheen of them was nevertheless intimidating.

“Some of my clients are a bit eccentric. This lady paid a pretty penny for real crystals and undyed leather. Took me forever to find a large batch dark enough for her liking, but I think she’ll be pleased with them. What do you think?”

Kili didn’t know exactly what to think about the implements on the table, but spoke the first thing that came to mind, “I guess she’s really willing to pay for flashy tack for her horse, huh?” He knew what a riding crop was, he’d seen enough of those in his rather privileged upbringing when he took lessons at his private school’s barn and riding ring. 

The shorter of the two reached over, picking up the crop and smiled. “This is really good work, Tauriel. You’ve got some solid skills. This looks like sometime you’d find in one of those high-end magazines for socialites or something.” His mother got all sorts of magazines like that, things you couldn’t find in stores. Ridiculous, really. He hadn’t a clue as to what the other things were. They looked a lot like handcuffs, but Kili wasn’t going to say anything right away.

He didn’t want to embarrass himself too badly. His cheeks went a little pink, “I should commission a new bracer from you. Mine is getting a little cracked and worn.”

“You think they’re for horses?” Tauriel chuckled; it wasn’t an unkind question, merely one of surprise.

Farbeit from her to break the poor man’s mind by offering an explanation on the finer points of kink. She was not here to educate, nor to judge. She simply crafted the implements and steadfastly ignored her own burning curiosity. Education was a necessity, simply by virtue of what she was creating, but knowledge of exactly how one put these principles into practice did not mean that one should indulge the whim of trying them out.

“Bracers are easy enough. I have a bit of scrap I could make them from, nice and sturdy,” Tauriel paused to pick up a pair of leather cuffs from the matching set on the table. “Would you want clasps like this? Or would you prefer snaps, or ties?”

“I like snaps, honestly.” He looked back over to the table, raising one dark eyebrow, craning around her to get a better look. Were they handcuffs then? Maybe the person buying them was into that kink stuff too? But that meant the crop was part of it too and--

“Whoa. Whoa. You mean it’s handcuffs and stuff for like sadomasochism and bondage? Whips and chains and stuff?” Kili went even more red, swallowing down the nervousness riding up in his throat. He’d never even looked at that kind of imagery before, unless it was in his generic vanilla porns he downloaded sometimes. Well, that and mostly he liked girl-in-charge kind of scenes, something he had never told anyone. 

Those scenes were on the hard drive his brother was to wipe in case anything happened to him, that along with his browsing history. That was a promise they made to each other years ago. “Are--Do you just make it or are you into that?” He was curious, though that was a wholly inappropriate thing to ask someone he’d just met an hour ago. 

Tauriel’s brow rose in the start of a politely confused grin. This man was entirely too adorable to be real, complete with a stutter and blush. Her romance novels never featured men like this; those fictional brutes were all domineering muscle with a controlling hand. They snatched hair and grabbed to bruise and wrapped their strong hands around slender necks, and Tauriel stared at the pages before her, scribbling notes in the margin, and seeing -- just for the briefest moments -- her own hands grasping and pulling and choking.

Why did men always _take_ and women always _give_? Why could it never be the other way around?

“For now, I just make what I’m commissioned. Can’t say that I’ve found anyone willing to indulge my curiosity. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t piqued.”

Kili was sure that his face was going to melt off when she spoke, but the little smile that started to form spoke to his growing curiosity. He took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders, “It looks like it could be fun, I mean…” He looked away for a moment, obviously embarrassed. 

What would his uncle say if he could see him now? He wasn’t supposed to be this damn shy around women. Especially not ones he really liked. Fili wouldn’t give him much grief at all. “I don’t know if you ever want to get together again and have coffee, and talk some more? Maybe about the stuff you make. Or if you ever wanna try it out?” The little grin grew quite impish. 

As long as her brother wasn’t here to catch them, he could be a little adventurous. 

Tauriel took the riding crop from Kili again, sliding an idle finger along the jewels that decorated the handle. What were the odds that she would stumble across a kindred spirit, tonight of all nights? What were the chances of finding a man who would indulge her strayer whims, if only for a few scant hours? Because, surely, a man who offered so quickly would not be interested in anything even vaguely longer term.

But tonight? Legolas wouldn’t be home until dawn, and there was an ache in her chest that whispered lonely words and longing refrains. _Abandoned, unwanted, unloved, wrong._ At that moment, she swore she would do anything to silence them, even briefly, even for the few seconds it took to press the crop’s handle beneath Kili’s chin, tilting his head up as she leaned down closer.

Long hair fell from her shoulder like a curtain of fire, brushed Kili’s knuckles and washed him in the earthen scent of sandalwood and sage. Her eyes were verdant daggers, betrayed a hunger that could not be put to words. And when she was close enough, though Kili could taste the tannins of their tea lingering on her breath, their lips scarcely touched, save when she spoke,

“Do you have even the faintest idea what you’re offering, Kili Durin?”

Kili could not find words right away, not even when she pressed the end of the crop against his skin to raise his gaze to hers. His deep chocolate eyes locked with hers. Did she have a clue as to what she was offering? 

“Not really, but I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.” They’d never talked before tonight, but there was nothing about her that made him want to go running for the hills. Tauriel was beautiful, smart, and incredibly talented with her chosen profession. Why would he not want to try whatever she had in mind? This went well beyond anything he’d ever imagined himself doing already, and well beyond the kind of scenery he liked to pleasure himself to. 

The impish smile stayed will in place as his hand came up to play with the ends of her fiery locks, “Are you really willing to give it to me?”.

Tauriel relaxed the handle from beneath his chin, and straightened again to take him in more critically. Looking at him, she could swear she would break him. For all she knew, he’d been broken before. He was far too eager for this to be as innocent as she’d assumed, but there was no lie in his eyes, no deception. Sweetness, excitement, and Tauriel was suddenly not at all sure about her own judgements in regards to Kili.

What was this? Who was he, beneath that devilish smile and those wild eyes?

She should know better than to assume, she knew. And here, again, was the evidence and reinforcement of that fact. Without offering a reply, Tauriel replaced the crop on her worktable, and ran her fingertips across his shoulders as she drifted toward the staircase.

“I’ll have to make my own set,” she explained, taking each step with deliberate slowness. “But I’m sure we can make up for it some other way, until I do.”

Oh shit.

She wasn’t playing and she certainly wasn’t bluffing. Kili’s normal response of cheeky humor wasn’t going to save him this time, but honestly, did he want to be saved? He’d just met this girl, and she was--

He didn’t have any words to describe how much he liked her. He liked to take chances on people and this time, it had definitely worked out in his favor. Kili took a step towards her, wringing his hands. Nervous and eager all at the same time, he just couldn’t believe that she actually wanted to do this. Tauriel was more than willing to take charge, just like in his wildest fantasies. Though compared to her, his were rather tame. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to change that and broaden his horizons. “Are you sure? I mean, we just met and all. I’m totally game, but if you don’t want to or you want to wait--” Just giving her that out if she wanted it. 

Kili was certainly ready to jump into the deep end of the pool, no matter the fact that he couldn’t swim all that well. 

Look before you leap had never been his motto. 

“Are you going to make me ask again?”

There was a note of incredulity to her tone. Perhaps not quite domineering, but eloquently demanding at the very least. She paused at the top of the stair, brow arched, drumming her fingertips against the rail. It spoke to faintly amused impatience, waiting for the acceptance of an invitation she would not extend again.

Tauriel turned her back then, fading into the darkness of the loft level. But not before Kili caught the flash of a pale back as she peeled her sweater away, and tossed it over the rail to the living room below.

“No, Ma’am.”

The smile went from ear to ear as he rushed to follow, kicking off his boots at the bottom of the stairs. The circular wrought iron stair was industrial, but easy to manage in the dim light as he neared the top. Her flash of bared skin was fuel for the fire, as he pulled off his own shirt, letting it drape over the railing at the top. 

It was dark as night up here, but he could see her. Just the outline of one very tall frame, lean with those auburn locks concerning the best view of her backside. Kili’s hands went to his waist then, to undo his belt and push his black jeans down. “Should we get a light up here or?”

“Only if you think it would improve the view.”

  
But Tauriel didn’t give him a chance to approve or decline. In fact, Kili was scarcely afforded that luxury for the remainder of the night. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Here be smut!
> 
> Just a note, there is some Elvish in here. You'll be able to discern a little more about Tauriel's weird family in the next chapter, but we decided to include the Elvish as a part of her family's tongue. :D Enjoy!

The last of the autumn leaves were barely clinging to the trees, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of woodfire and smoke. Cold as it was -- and more clandestine activities than “camping” in mind -- Tauriel had insisted on a cabin for their first hunting trip into the mountains. Legolas didn’t exactly approve of Tauriel leaving for a full week with someone she’d “just met,” but a few months of knowing Kili (and rather intimately, at that) had thrown up no red flags or cautionary tales.

He was sweet. He made her laugh. She saw no reason to keep him at arm’s length.

Kili learned a good deal about her during that first day in the orange strewn forests. He learned of her patience, of her ability to lie in wait for hours of complete silence, as if she had the whole of eternity and would not be rushed. He learned of her distinction, her ability to judge from a distance and at a glance whether a particular pelt would be of use to her. He learned of her resourcefulness, that she would rather take her prey down with a bow than trap them in snares which would harm her pelt.

Most poignant of all, he learned of her terrifyingly precise aim.

They returned to their cabin only when night fell, and built a fire in the ring provided. A few pelts -- small, two dark rabbits and a black squirrel -- hung already on the cabin rails, their first day’s bounty. It was enough meat to start a rather hearty stew, and Tauriel had thrown all into a pot of broth and vegetables, now sat boiling over a fire grate.

“You’re better with a bow than I expected,” Tauriel teased when she took a seat beside him at last. “Where did you learn that?”

Kili grinned at her, “I told you my uncle is a hardass. He made sure my brother and I could do something well besides being spoiled little brats and spoiled businessmen.” Of all the things Kili had learned about Tauriel in the last couple of months, she’d learned more about him. The child of mining magnates, he knew his way around the mining business, but took to the woods as soon as he could walk. Kili loved to be outside, almost as much as he loved his bow. It was a surprise that archery and bow-hunting were something they found to be fun.

She favored a recurve, while he stuck to his compound bow. The compound bow was much easier to use with his shorter limbs.

Camping, even staying in a cabin, was his favorite activity. It was nice to get away from the city and just be surrounded by trees. He leaned against her arm, watching the fireplace. Their dinner smelled good already. “Where did you learn it? Your brother who wishes you’d just put an arrow in me and leave me out here?”

He’d only met Legolas in passing, really. It was easy to tell the taller man disapproved, though not because of how short he was. Simply he didn’t think Kili was good enough for her.

Kili had a tendency to ask loaded questions. Simple enough at first blush, if the question had been posed to anyone other than Tauriel. But there was rarely an easy explanation for why she was so familiar with the snap of a bowstring, or her intimate familiarity with the skinning and dressing of various animals, or why she seemed so wary of even the briefest affections.

She hid it too well though, went stiff for only a moment before craning her neck to nuzzle the crown of his head. There were always clever ways to sidestep his questions, though it hardly seemed fair to him. Kili was an open book. He spared her so much trust, confided in her even as she proverbially danced around the possibility of him learning anything of her past.

At least, nothing past the name of her brother, and the vague implication that they’d grown up in “a mountain town.” If Kili had gleaned -- or assumed -- anything past that, she never confirmed or denied how close he was to the truth.

“He’s better than I am,” Tauriel laughed faintly. “Much faster too. I’ve seen him put ten arrows in a target, in as many seconds, and each one split the last. He’s like some kind of archery savant, I don’t know how he does it.”

“Well now that I know that, I’ll just be sure to give him free coffee or something to ensure he doesn’t put an arrow through my eye socket just for seeing you.” Though, he was sure that Legolas was just biding his time. Waiting for the moment when he did something stupid so he would have a justifiable reason to kill him. Kili laughed, moving and scooting himself up to kiss her cheek.

He’d only recently discovered she didn’t mind it when he was bold.

The rush of the hunt earlier was still pulsing in his veins and he was eager to do something about it. Dinner would certainly take a while to cook and he pressed another kiss to the side of her neck. They had enough time.

Kili wanted her to push him down and take charge, like she had several times before. The more time they were together, the more he’d been able to discern a certain quality about her. Tauriel had a definite type A personality. She was kind and generous, but liked order and getting her way. The redhead especially liked the fact that he was so willing to oblige her whims, he could tell.

“If you think free coffee is going to sway his homicidal tendencies, you’re in for quite a treat. If murder can be called a treat.”

Treat, curse, who could say any longer? Their entire existence together straddled that line too often to be much of either. Tauriel was demanding only between the sheets, but Kili submitted too readily, and Tauriel savored every moment of his bittersweet, blissful agony that crossed his face.

In those moments, he was hers, without question or qualm. And though they’d made each other no promises, she felt little need to press for more. Not unless Kili wanted it, asked for it. She’d be hard-pressed to bring someone new into the mess of her life.

Her head lilted to one side, almost idly, affording his mouth the gift of her flesh to prey upon. Her eyes drifted shut, a soft sigh rolling across the space between them.

“Then again, you tend to embrace torture.”

“My mom does think I’m reckless,” He grinned against her cheek, whispering in her ear like it was not the obvious truth. Young, foolhardy. His family accepted his choices, but he knew they would have him back under their wing and working himself to a death by tedium if they had their way. Like Fili was doing. “But I would hardly call what you do to me torture..”

His horizons had certainly been broadened the last few months. Kili found himself searching the internet for more of what she offered, what she could offer. Tauriel always welcomed ideas, she always asked him what he wanted to do and what he wanted done to him. It was no surprise he’d gone from rather vanilla tastes to something a little more delicious since he’d met her. No judgement, simply good company and pleasure like he’d never known. Kili had never been so completely satisfied with any relationship before this. She found him so eager to please the more she pressed him between the sheets, and even like this. They could have fun for fun’s sake, Kili lived for the teasing.

He took a moment to slide out of his sweater, moving to the floor to kneel between her legs. The shorter man’s lips found her neck while his hands teased the skin of her lower back under her shirt. “I had a very different definition of torture three months ago than I do now.”

“Do you? I wonder how the definitions have varied.”

Kili’s grin was contagious, and Tauriel found it upon her own lips every time. No one could make her smile quite the way Kili did; she couldn’t even recall the last person who’d been able to to the same. He brought out something long-dormant in her -- happiness, perhaps freedom -- and embodied the very soul of it, as if she could see the trappings mirrored in his dark eyes.

She reached up to stroke his hair, playing idly at the ends as she shifted to cradle her legs more securely around the man. His waist knew the shape of her thighs, blissfully intimate with the varied ways she could use them. But (for now) they merely held him, steadied as her fingertips drifted along his bare shoulder blades and rose his skin to gooseflesh at her touch.

“You’ll burn our dinner if you start with that. And possibly the entire forest. Is that a chance you’re willing to take?”

When her legs wrapped around him, he couldn’t help but shiver. Maybe it was a conditioning of the last few months, but he was ready to simply obey. Particularly when her legs were wrapped around him.

“Not like I can’t just move it away from the fire.” Kili’s hands moved between them playing at the waistband of her trousers. “Before I met you, I thought torture was a lot less fun than what I think now. I’d beg for hours just to get more of it.” And he had begged before, “Or maybe I could just get you started before we eat?” He slid down between her legs a little more, hands pulling down her slacks slowly. Teasing, just as she would tease him. “And have the big finale after?”

As Kili moved down, Tauriel’s thighs tightened on either side of him, and no sooner had he gotten her pants lowered than he found himself on his back. Strewn across the ground like so many leaves, staring up at a canopy of bare branches and stars, Kili suddenly knew the warmth of her lips once more -- upon his mouth, his cheek, his throat…

“I had other plans for you,” Tauriel murmured, her voice low and sultry as the smoke that rose above them. “And you’ll get them when I’m ready to give them to you. Understood, Pet?”

Her demands were always dichotomous, sweet and affectionate despite the harsh command they carried. It was difficult to take her seriously with a tone so loving, until he found himself on the wrong end of a crop, or denied his release for just a few hours too long. A soft demeanor, only reinforced by the fingers tenderly tracing his jawline, sinking into the dark waves of his hair, and holding him still as she kissed him deeply. A kiss, with the finale of a sharp bite to his lower lip. Gentle and vicious, her very nature tied as one.

Splayed out on the earth beneath her, Kili could not stop himself from answering with an anxious smile. “Yes, Mistress.”

Her kisses were a gift, and not one of them would be taken for granted. His lower lip stung with the force of her bite, but it did not stop the arousal from growing between his legs. Tauriel was like a gift from Heaven, a shining light in his life ever since she’d been stood up at his coffee shop. Fili liked her and her brash manner, he didn’t understand his little brother following her around like a lost puppy...but he liked her nonetheless. Her fingers in his hair made his eyes close, relishing the feeling of her nails sliding along his scalp.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be impatient...you know how I love getting to be alone with you.” And how he loved feeling the sting of her crop or her hand on his backside, the imprints in his skin of the rope she used to restrain him, or the feeling of her strap-on buried deep in his ass. “Short people are always impatient.” He grinned, daring to run a hand up her calf.

Of course, being buried in her was just as good when she allowed it.

His beautiful redhead called all of the shots in their little partnership and Kili wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Is that your excuse this week?” Tauriel grinned. “I don’t believe you.”

Kili was not the sort to use his height as a crutch. In their time together, she’d witnessed the many ways he’d found to overcome it. His life had taught him ingenuity. Granted, he had a tendency to climb on things, not the least of which being her at times…

Mistress though she may be, she was endlessly forgiving and patient to a fault. Those jeans were too low on her bony hips, and she took his hands, guiding them firm along her waist to rest on her lower back. He felt the muscles tighten beneath his fingertips, beautifully taut as she ground her ass against him. Her lips lingered at his once more, a soft bite and a hot breath, but just as quickly, she leaned back to stand and helped Kili to his feet.

“Go inside, then. Undress and wait for me. I’ll need to put out the fire.”

The excitement radiating off of Kili was almost palpable, as he was helped up and dared to press a kiss to her cheek from the very tips of his toes. He was quite short, but always had a good sense of humor about it. Still, the prospect of this in the woods was more than enough to make him hurry up into the cabin.

It must have sounded quite comical to her, how he fumbled to get his boots off, and then his shirt and trousers. He could hear her shoveling dirt onto their little fire, just to put their dinner on hold. They could certainly make their fill of that later tonight. She had no defined work hours outside what she made for herself and he wasn’t due back at work for two days. They could spend all the time here that they wanted. Camping, even in a cabin, and hunting was always a delight, just not as enjoyable as getting to be naked in front of her. Kili threw his clothes over his backpack and sank back onto their large bed here.

Legs spread out in front of him, leaning back on his hands. Waiting ever so patiently for her to join him.

Tauriel took her time stifling the embers of the fire. Even after the task was finished, she took a few extra moments to carefully cover the pot of stew and set it aside for later. He could hear every shift of dirt beneath her feet, and the passing moments seemed almost intentional. At that, he knew her well enough to know they likely were intentional.

The stairs creaked beneath her boots when she finally climbed them to slip inside the cabin. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, pleased to find him already undressed and upon their bed, as commanded. He was willful, yes. But if she were perfectly honest with herself, that was part of what she loved about him.

Loved. Had it really come to that already? Not that she dared utter the word. She enjoyed this thing between them, whatever it was, and she didn’t dare ruin it by bringing that to the table. Surely, he wouldn’t know what to do with something like that. He would run.

The distant look in her eyes lasted only a moment, and she slipped out of her boots to leave them -- along with her jacket and scarf -- in a pile by the door.

“We’ll need to teach you patience someday,” she cast a sidelong grin over her shoulder, moving to dig through the sole backpack she’d brought. “Luckily for you, I don’t have the patience to teach it to you right now.”

On the bedside table, Tauriel spread out their implements for the evening. Kili only got the briefest glance before Tauriel leaned over to gently drape a bandana over his eyes, and tie it at the back of his head. Shortly before their trip, Kili had gifted her a new toy. She had been gracious enough to bring it along.

He couldn’t help the little whine of disappointment when she wrapped that bandana around his eyes. Kili loved being able to watch her, the minute expressions that played across her face the moment she brought the whip down on his backside, or when her face lit up at the prospect of some new toy he’d gotten. Being blindfolded was not his favorite, but it certainly made the anticipation that much sweeter. At least he’d gotten a glance at what she had laid out.

“I don’t think you’re any more patient than I am.” He grinned up at her, feeling her breath on his face. It was easy to tell where she was. “Besides, if my Ma couldn’t teach me, I dunno if you can.” Patience was not a virtue to Kili, it was torture. Though Tauriel always managed to make it such a sweet pain.

He moved, getting up to kneel on the bed, reaching out his hands for her. “Come on, Tauriel, just admit it. You like giving me what I want.” Kili’s grin grew a little, his hands feeling for her since he could no longer see her. She had definitely moved out of reach.

“I like taking what I want,” she corrected firmly, and knelt beside him to his arms around her waist. “Thankfully, that’s usually what you want too.”

Tauriel allowed his hands to wander her back -- now bare, having shed her shirt and bra in the short time she was away from the bed. She tugged gently at his hair, enough to guide his head to the side, and allow her the room she needed to drag her teeth along the side of his throat. He tasted of woodsmoke and forest, and that was possibly the most intoxicating thing she’d ever sucked off his skin.

Before they could wander too far afield, Tauriel took his wrists in hand, and shoved him back to lie flat as she straddled his waist. She made quick work of the leather shackles, fastening his wrists around one of the headboard post, enough for loose movement but not quite enough to reach her should he wish to touch.

He could undo them himself, and quite easily at that. But he knew better. This was simply part of the game.

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” She whispered as she looped closed the last buckle. “What I want to do to you, every time I see you smile, every time I hear you laugh?”

“Yeah, I know I’m prettier than most, they had to give me something to make up for my lack of height.” He bit his lower lip, the grin staying firmly in place as she straddled him and shackled him down. It was rare he got shackles and a blindfold at the same time. For a moment, Kili’s breath caught in his throat as her hips made contact with his. As much as he loved being buried in her warm depths, he much preferred it this way. “Seeing you smile though, that makes me want to do anything for you.”

His grin turned into something much more adoring. Affection for Tauriel had only grown in the time they were together, he just dared not speak it aloud for fear of spooking her. He didn’t want her to drop him like a bad habit, given how unconventional their roles in the bedroom usually were. Kili dared to push his hips up, gently rubbing his arousal against her ass. Her perfect ass. “You’re absolutely perfect.”

That brought the expected smile to Tauriel’s face, and she couldn’t help leaning up to catch his lips in another kiss. She knew better than to believe him, of course. Time had been too good a teacher. She’d lost everything due to her lack of perfection. Everything but her brother. And how long would it be before he returned to their home, before she lost him as well? He was welcome back there after all, but Tauriel?

But she could pretend. When Kili was beneath her, she could believe a vast number of impossible things. He made every one seem plausible.

Her lips traced a slow, familiar trail along his collarbone, down his chest, lingering at his stomach as she slipped between his lips and made deft work of the lube. The kisses fell across the arch of his hip as she pressed one finger deep into him, and worked him open with all the careful sweetness he knew to expect from her loving torture.

“Tell me, then,” she whispered against the inside of his thigh. “Why you think so.”

He couldn’t speak for a few moments, not with the teeth biting into his lip as she pushed a finger into him. Tauriel’s kisses were sweet, he could always taste them for days after. Even when they got into a heavy scene, she always treated him so tenderly. Preparing him so it wouldn’t hurt too much, though it always was a dull ache.

“You mean besides the fact that you’re a tall redhead who’s deadly with a bow and willing to indulge me in this kind of thing?” The last few months had only opened up a whole new world for Kili. With his height, few women thought he could be a viable partner. Most didn’t like looking down on their male half while standing, and the women his height rarely gave him a second glance. At least those that didn’t know about his family’s considerable wealth. Kili was breathless as he continued to speak, “Your kisses are like a gift, your skin is soft, and your aim is never off.”

He whimpered as her finger worked him open, pulling against his shackles and opening his legs a little more. “You’re downright perfect, Tauri--oooh.”

That was about what she’d expected, though she couldn’t quite account for the way her heart sank. There was little sense in disappointment when they had no hope of finding more in each other. Hadn’t that expectation been set from the start? She was beautiful, she indulged his masochism. He was beautiful, he indulged her attention. No sense complicating matters.

It was easy to lose herself in thought like this. Often enough, she could take hours between his legs just like this, if only because she’d drift away on the song of Kili’s moans and pleas. She dragged her tongue along the underside of his cock, only once, lingering at the head as she pressed a second finger into him. A few moments of that earned him the firm wrap of her lips, tight around his cock and taking him in slow down to the hilt.

She could tell him all the ways she’d found him utterly perfect, if he asked. That he was the first person to ever see her, to ever spare her the kindness of a ride home on a cold night. That she’d never seen anyone else in his coffee shop sneak leftover pastries to the homeless and hungry that lingered outside after his shift ended. That his smile had melted her heart the moment she saw it, and he’d been the only one to thaw it since. That no one, not even her dear brother, had ever made her laugh the way Kili did. And that sometimes, when she saw his eyes soften, when their gazes met, she found some little spark of hope in humanity again.

It was a full fifteen minutes before she even lifted her lips from his cock again.

“Louder now, Kili. They can’t hear you in the canopy.” She chuckled.

He was panting, writhing under her. Kili had never been one to stay still for too long, not even as he whined at the loss of contact with her talented mouth. The second finger in him kept him from being too quiet, but she wanted him to be louder. Even though the bandana kept him blind, he could imagine her grin. See her leaning over him, the long red locks a fiery curtain that enveloped their faces and hiding them from the room.

“Please...please, Tauriel.” He moaned under her, “I need you. I always need you.”

Tauriel never saw him as a joke, or simply less because of what he was. She hadn’t written him off just because he’d chosen to be a barista, rather than a mining magnate like his brother. She laughed at even the most mundane jokes he cracked. Kili tried to wrap his legs around her to pull her in closer, to try and get that wonderful gift he’d given her inside of him. “Please don’t ever leave…”

Kili was losing track of his tongue and simply saying whatever was in his mind.

“Please, please make me yours.”

“Shhh,” she hushed against his stomach. “Patience, meleth nin.”

For once, Tauriel couldn’t heed her own chastisement. She leaned over him to the bedside table, still stroking within him as she fetched her new toy -- ‘A strapless strap-on,’ Kili had joked while wiggling his eyebrows -- L-shaped and phallic on both ends. She’d never had the pleasure of something like this before; she was just as curious and eager for it as he was.

Tauriel reached up to push the bandana away from his eyes, careful to keep it from catching in his pretty hair before she tossed it away. She gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the faint candlelight, a moment to get his bearings before she guided the toy between her legs. She teased herself with it, more for his amusement than her own, pressing it between her lips and back, over and again, until he could see her wetness dripping along the shaft of it. Her face was flush, her breath coming a bit faster, and never once did her gaze leave his face.

Meleth nin. She called him that so often, when they were both too far lost in the heat of the moment. Kili had never asked her its meaning, but she wondered if he could sense the truth behind the words nevertheless.

“Just watch.”

“Tauriel…”

Her name hung off the end of his tongue, surprised she was using that particular toy when she normally favored the strap-on with the green harness. The way she had snickered at the strapless strap-on in the store he hadn’t expected her to actually--oh, seeing her tease herself after she’d had her lips wrapped around him was an even worse torture. How he wanted to sink himself into her, feel her pulse around him, and just listen to the beautiful music that was her voice.

Kili struggled against the leather manacles, knowing there was little chance of pulling himself free or even reaching up to undo them. Tauriel hadn’t given him permission to free himself.

He couldn’t be patient, especially when she called him that. Kili had no idea what meleth nin meant, but he could only assume it was supposed to be a pet name in an obscure language. She’d lived in the woods for most her life, of course. Perhaps they had their own language, much like the miners he’d grown up around. They had their own language, made of sounds of signs to communicate in the deep tunnels. “You are so perfect…so beautiful...please, please…” He whimpered as she moved close to tease his entrance, “Please fuck me.”

The barista kept his legs spread, pulling his knees up towards his chest. “Please, I wanna be yours--”

“You are mine.”

There was no question of that. Not in this moment, at the very least. With a bracing breath, Tauriel pushed the toy into herself. She closed her eyes, stifling a shiver as she seated herself on it. It only vaguely filled the ache of emptiness; moments like this, she blessed and embraced her own self-control. Her patience was all that kept her from shoving Kili back and sinking onto him, his cock felt so much more satisfying than these implements. But for him, she would make due.

Finally -- slowly -- her fingers left him, and she briefly coated the rest of the lube onto their toy. She pressed the tip to his entrance, and reached down to carefully stroke his cock. How she could be so loving, so tender in her deviance, Kili may never understand. But she was so gentle when she pushed her hips forward, so sweet when she sank into him, pressed in until her hips were flush against his backside, and when she was completely within, she paused. He needed time to adjust, and she would never hurt him beyond the threshold of his pain tolerance. Pleasure should never be overshadowed by pain. It was such a delicate balance between the hurt that pleased, and the scars that never healed.

“Tell me when, Kili,” she whispered, still deliberately stroking his cock. “When you’re ready.”

Finally.

He was so full and Kili couldn’t help but groan, almost wrapping his legs around her to keep her there. It was still a sharp sting, accompanied by that memorable dull ache but his redhead beauty always gave him whatever time he needed to adjust. The first time she’d penetrated him, Tauriel had to stay still for a good ten minutes just so he could become accustomed to the very new feeling of it. After they had even discussed the possibility of her topping him, he’d practically bought out the local sex toy store of all the toys he thought he would like.

But this one was without a doubt his new favorite. It would pleasure them both at the same time and it was much easier to travel with.

Her hand on his cock just made that adjustment period all the much shorter. “Please…” His hips moved on hers, fucking himself on their toy. A silent plea for her to start moving. The first time they’d done this was one of the most powerful orgasms of his life, and he returned the favor for her. “I’m ready.” Kili pleading to her to make him utterly hers. Tauriel had spoken it, and his cheeks were flushed, he belonged to her.

He seemed so innocent at times, so completely at odds with the filth he begged and pleaded for. Tauriel knew what lay beneath that surface, that veneer of goodness. It concealed a need to belong, just as hers did, and perhaps their connection lay in and stemmed from that alone. Belonging, love, they weren’t so dissimilar after all, and perhaps part of Tauriel simply wanted to destroy that facade, to hear him break apart at his seams and beg for her because--

Because she wanted to belong to him too. She wanted love that would stay, that wouldn’t forsake or abandon her, and she wouldn’t settle for it from anyone less. She wanted that with Kili.

Tauriel was grinning when she leaned over him, eyes drifting shut as she pressed their foreheads together. A gesture of affection, of silent reassurance; she wasn’t going anywhere. This was only for Kili. Soft kisses fluttered across his temple, down his jaw, worshipful attention, praise for such diligent cooperation, tender even as she began to rock into him. Gradual, deliberate, and for once it was just as much for her own benefit as his. Every push of her hips drew a gasp and a shudder, deepened the flush of her cheeks as the toy stimulated her from within.

This was new. This was breathtaking.

Kili was almost lost in the sensation of her kisses, the feel of their toy moving in and out of him with the rhythm of her hips. He was so deliciously full every time her hips touched his backside. The barista could not stop the whimpers and moans escaping his lips, unable to even touch himself to quench the heat pooling in his loins. He could not even begin to imagine just how incredible it felt for Tauriel as well, almost forgetting that she was being pleasured at the same time.

For months now, he just wanted to be hers. Kili had opened himself up to such depravity with her, such wickedly delightful torments that only she could unleash on him.

“Tauriel--Tauriel…” He gasped against her cheek, still struggling against his leather manacles just to add a bit of fight to all this. Kili didn’t want her to undo him. He wanted her to fuck him until he couldn’t hold it anymore. “Please...harder, please fuck me harder!”

“Since you asked so nicely…”

Gentleness was a by-gone thing. They always reached a like point in their tumbles together, wherein Kili begged more, pleaded until Tauriel relented and became relentless. Gritting her teeth against the effort and reaching down to hold his hips, she paused. A moment for breath, a moment for Kili to savor the last of their tenderness, before the punishment began.

She would never bring him harm. At least, none beyond what he could bear. She was a tempest, after all; only so much care could be taken when one begged the brutality of the storm. Her thighs and abdomen both ached from the force of it, her breath coming harder from the now-fervent pace. Perhaps to prove that she could complete him, that he would never find another so eager to indulge his newfound depravity.

Tauriel reached up to cradle his jaw in one hand, dragging her thumb over his lower lip as she hissed between labored breath:

“I could watch you like this forever. You have no idea what you look like. No idea--”

Stroke after stroke buried that toy so deeply inside of him, and force of them simply egged him on. Kili was lost for words, his face flushed and his eyes closed. He could hear her voice, praising his submission as he simply rode the wave. This was heaven and he would give his last breath to make it last forever.

Not just the actions.

Her company as well.

When he could no longer stand to leave his arousal untouched, Kili broke. He fumbled, struggling against the manacles that bound his wrists until he freed one hand to immediately wrap his fingers around his cock. He could only cry out, begging her forgiveness as his legs wrapped around her, holding her still inside of him as he stroked himself. Kili never wanted to be without her again.

He was so close. He would be punished for it later, but Tauriel could forgive the indiscretion for now. Early in their relationship, she might have slapped his hands away, might have withdrawn completely only to prolong his torture. But she knew how to weave magic over him now, and she could do it without keeping him at the edge and under her thumb for hours. Though he held her flush against him, her hips still moved, a minute press to keep on with that friction deep within him. Angled up, to stroke where she knew would drive him mad, and rather than push his hand away, she laced her fingers within his, and moved their hands together in time over his cock.

Her smile was one of benevolence, of permission. He had her leave to come. She wanted to see his end break over him, to savor his undoing just as she always did. There were times -- often enough to be worrying, in fact -- when she realized that these were some of her favorite moments between them. Not so much her own sweet release, but the utter completion and relief that came over Kili as soon as he spilled himself over her fingers, in her mouth, within her. Either way, it was an intoxicating sight.

“Come, Kili,” Tauriel whispered, leaning close enough to taste his cries. “Come now.”

That was truly what he needed, that verbal assent to allow him his release. She was a goddess in mortal flesh like this, capable of commanding him with her words alone to do whatever she wanted. He stroked himself quickly, the tight coil that had been building over the past few minutes finally snapped and he spilled all over their hands and his belly. A sharp cry accompanied it, watching her keeping her gaze then.

“Tauri---Tauriel!” He bit his lip hard, the sensation quickly becoming a little too much for him to bear.

But he would suffer later for this, he knew that. He didn’t care, knowing he deserved it for freeing himself to come. For now, it was fine. For now, Tauriel was all praises and pride, stroking his cheek and pressing soft kisses across his temple and forehead. A moment’s peace, a respite and solace to bathe in the afterglow. A false pretense, perhaps. Because while she distracted him with soft kisses and plieing touch, she slowly withdrew the toy from both of them, to lay forgotten on the bed by Kili’s feet.

She gave no warning, no inkling of her intentions as she shifted over him, to straddle the same hips she’d just been slamming into. The sensation would be too much, she know; over-sensitive in the wake of orgasm, but he had to know his punishment was nigh. She reached between him, to take his still-stiff cock in hand and guide it to the searing warmth of her entrance.

But it was her own patience wearing too thin now. She could tease him like this a while longer, ride only the head of him, until he was mad from it. Instead, she took him in completely, seated herself on his cock and let her head fall back in the tremulous draw of a bracing breath.

“I’m not done with you,” she sighed blissfully. “Not yet…”

The soft involuntary whine that left his mouth was more than a little embarrassing, and it took a long moment for him to pull his other hand free of the manacle. Kili pushed himself up, sitting with her and wrapping one arm around her waist. While he’d had his own glorious end, Tauriel had yet to find her release and the warm wrap around his overly-sensitive cock was maddening. She had taken advantage of this before, the time it took for him to soften was a rather long one.

Kili began to move under her, gently thrusting up into her warm depths to make her just as lost in pleasure as him. His free hand found the jewel nestled in her folds, his thumb stroking it softly. His lips wrapped around one nipple, sucking softly as he pleased her. He only ever wanted to please her like this.

Even if his synapses were misfiring from the overstimulation, the only thing that mattered was her.

“Kili,” she whispered through a bliss-hazy smile. “Melethron…”

Parts of her fell away each time they came together like this. Senseless parts, unneeded in the wake of this sensation, unwanted for the simple fact that their presence required far too much thought. She was a creature of base need in Kili’s arms, shifting her hips with such eagerness, a desperate ride both over his cock and against his thumb. If the toy hadn’t brought her close enough, this certainly would.

She would never understand how Kili knew exactly where and how to touch her. Perhaps she was a good instructor, perhaps he was simply a phenomenal student. Or perhaps it was a glorious covalence of both, winding tighter, spilling exquisite heat between her legs.

“Like that.” Kili had rarely heard Tauriel’s voice like this. Usually so firm, calm, but this was a tone of pure need. “There. There.”

So close…

He had sense enough in him to process her words, at least. His fire-haired beauty was close to her own glorious release and Kili would have it be nothing less than just as good as his own. His huntress, goddess of the forests who had no equal. He wanted to feel her pulse around, though every thrust up into her made his breath grow more and more ragged. “Please...please…” He murmured against her chest, “Please finish, Tauriel.”

Even though he wasn’t bound anymore, he was begging for her end. Begging her to join him at last in that physical bliss that had momentarily taken his breath.

He scarcely need ask. A few moments longer, a few more hard shifts of her hips, and she’d found her end. It came on the edge of a harsh cry, seated completely on Kili’s cock as she shuddered and pulsed around him. Tauriel’s face was always so utterly beautiful in these moments; it was so rare for Kili to she her so unfettered, so completely divorced from reality. For those few moments, it was just the two of them; no past and no future and no care.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and Tauriel leaned over to catch Kili’s mouth in another kiss. It lingered, just long enough for her to catch her breath, before she carefully removed herself from Kili again.

“I’m surprised you haven’t started calling me ‘Mistress.’” She laughed as she fell back against the pillows. “Seems like the sort of thing you’d be into.”

“I don’t think Mistress flows as nicely off the tongue as Tauriel does.” Kili gave her one of the most adoringly cheesy grins he could muster. “I couldn’t do this with anyone else. Just you.”

He chuckled, curling up next to her and reaching up to push the sweat-soaked hair away from her face. It didn’t matter what they were doing, or what kind of mess they’d gotten themselves into. Tauriel was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Kili leaned up, kissing her cheek and just dropped the bombshell.

“So, my mom invited you to dinner this Sunday. Are you free?”

Which was, more than likely, the last thing Tauriel expected him to ask her. In fact, were she to make a list of Things Kili is Likely To Say, with least likely being at the bottom, an invitation to family dinner would not even make the cut. Dinner with the Durins. Mom invited her. It begged some very important questions, not the least of which being:

“Your mother knows about me?”

She carefully disengaged herself from Kili’s snuggle, if only to sit up and stare down at him with the most curiously incredulous look she’d ever worn.

“I only mean-- Is that really something you want? We haven’t talked much about our families. Not outside our brothers, anyway.”

“Well--yeah, I mean she knew from like the first week because Fili can’t keep his mouth shut about anything. If you knew my mom, there’s no avoiding an interrogation from her when she wants to know.” Kili suddenly looked a little frightened, like he’d done something wrong by telling his mother more about Tauriel. Perhaps he wasn’t supposed to. He’d only assumed it was okay because they’d been seeing each other for so long and--

“Was I not supposed to? We’d love to have you there, you and Legolas if he wants to come too, but if you don’t want to go--” He paused swallowing back the growing ball of anxiety in his throat. “I just figured you might like to meet my family since we’ve been seein’ each other so long now and--”

He looked away, knowing he’d done something reckless and foolish.

Tauriel knew better than to leave him in a lurch like that, but for a long moment, words utterly failed her. Her entire perception of their relationship -- of what they were -- had just been turned utterly on its head, and she was too cautious to be hopeful just yet.

Fili had spoken of her. Mom had interrogated and invited her to dinner. With Legolas, no less. It was utterly unheard-of, particularly in the family they’d come from. Their own kin were so insular, they were lucky if they even married outside of the immediate family. They’d left with very good reason.

Was this what a functioning family actually did?

“I thought this was just sex to you.” Tauriel said at last, relaxing by a fraction against his shoulder. “...I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t think you would--”

The words stuck in her throat. She’d said them so rarely in her life, reared in an environment neither affectionate nor loving. Only ever to Legolas, and on occasion to their father, who’d answered only with stern frowns.

“I know how I feel about you,” she whispered. “But I wasn’t going to push it if you didn’t-- If you don’t see us as-- that.”

“Oh.”

Then it dawned on him. “OH. No, I totally feel the same way!” Kili grinned, leaning up to kiss her cheek again. “See, I just thought dinner to meet my family and see if you like them was a better first step than me gushing all my stupid feelings out at you. I thought we were more than just a fling, I mean Fili thinks you’re awesome and he doesn’t think that about everyone.”

The barista had to move to his knees and his hands cupped her palms as he planted another kiss on her lips. She was so tall. His thumbs stroked her soft skin, “I’d love it if you came to dinner and met my family. They’ll love you. Probably more than they love me.” He laughed again.

Tauriel’s gaze softened along with the stiff line of her shoulders. It still felt entirely too good to be true, but she wasn’t about to doubt her blessings. Trust was not the easiest thing to come by with Tauriel, and Kili had -- in their short time together -- managed to earn it unquestioningly. She wouldn’t argue, if Kili assured her so firmly of his wishes.

Instead, she relaxed against the pillows again, snagging him around the shoulders to pull him down as well.

“If that’s the case, I’ll have to love you enough for all of them,” she whispered, a smiled reassurance that sounded every bit as relieving as it felt.

“Tell me about them? What should I expect?”

He turned, snuggling into the crook of her arm and pulled the blankets up around them. A yawn before he smiled against her shoulder. “Well, you know Fili and his blabber mouth. My mom’s name is Dis, and rightly, she’s a helluva matriarch. You don’t wanna be around her when she’s in one of her moods, but you just have to stand up to her once and she’ll be your best friend.” Kili chuckled, “Even my uncle Thorin is scared of her, thinks it’s easier to just go along with what she wants than fight with her.”

He stroked her cheek with one finger, tracing the contours of her face, knowing his own unshaven one might be a little more than prickly. Kili never could stand to shave it, hardly anyone in his family did. They all walked around with great beards, even Fili had a respectable beard. “And then there’s my cousin Gloin and his son Gimli...who will fight with anyone who looks at him wrong. A good knock upside the head and he’ll steer clear of you. My other cousin Oin is a doctor. There’s Balin and Dwalin...Balin helps my mom with the day to day running of the mining company and Dwalin is my uncle’s best friend. He’s a bare knuckles boxer in his spare time. One time, someone bit half his ear off.”

Another deep, rather contented sigh left him, “Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur aren’t really blood, but their families were the ones that first that worked the original mine in Erebor back when my great grandfather opened it. Same with Dori, Nori, and Ori. They all work in the company somewhere, well...except for Bombur. He works in the homeless shelter downtown making food all day. He’s the one that usually cooks Sunday dinner for all of us.”

The smile never left Tauriel’s face while Kili spoke of his family. It seemed novelty to her, that they should welcome people as kin who were not blood. Thranduil had never welcomed anyone into their fold who was not family. Even distant relations by blood were discouraged. If they weren’t part of the faith, if they had not taken the vows, they couldn’t be trusted.

She wondered if the Durins would welcome herself and Legolas the same, if they would embrace them despite the obvious hurdles and age-old simmering hatred. Just the same, even if it weren’t easy, she was ready. To be beside Kili, to be a part of that support system for him… She was ready to fight for that.

“Type-A mother and uncle, a handful of fighters and miners, and a philanthropist chef.” Tauriel grinned. “Sounds a lot more lively than my family. I can’t wait to meet them.”

She only hoped they would like her as much as Kili supposed.


End file.
